Cellum makes card registration a snap with new optical-scanning feature

Along with safety, convenience is at the core of any mobile payment system’s value offering. And a key component of convenience in mobile payments is speed: speedy initiation of transactions, speedy transaction confirmations, and – not least – speedy setup of mobile wallets.

To help with the crucial first steps that mobile wallet users must take before making their first transactions, Cellum is adding a new card-scanning feature to its wallet offerings. Built on the open-source Card.io SDK, the system frees end-users from having to manually enter card information by using their mobile device’s camera to read the visible data of credit or debt cards they are registering to the wallet.

While it may seem like a minor advance, it is one that cutting-edge firms like ride-sharing giant Uber have found invaluable, as they aim to cut the friction involved in quickly getting users from sign-up to activity. Cellum believes that this advantage will be useful for every category of customer it develops wallets for, from financial institutions to niche merchants.

“Building world-class mobile wallets is in some ways like building world-class racing cars: You need to be the fastest, while also being the safest,” says Cellum CEO János Kóka. “By removing the need for manual registration of card details we are doing the equivalent of shaving off a crucial second in lap times – without sacrificing the security of anyone involved.”

The new optical-registration feature is currently being offered as an optional upgrade for existing white-label wallets, and will later be bundled into Plug and Pay, the SDK that Cellum will be rolling out in 2015 to third-party developers worldwide.